No one would take her on an international mission trip, “Carrie” told Ralph Cooley, Cru staff with Faculty Commons, during Cru Conference.
“Why is that?” he asked.
“Because I’m legally blind,” she said.
“I’ll take you,” he’d responded.
Three months later, Carrie, a student from Utah, joined the University of Idaho on their spring break trip to Costa Rica Ralph leads every year.
Sitting in on the airplane, Carrie began to memorize the “Would you like to Know God Personally?” booklet, so she could more easily share it with students on campus at San José, Costa Rica.
The woman in the seat beside her asked where she was going and what she was reading. Carrie told her a little, and that she was memorizing the booklet.
“Here,” the woman said. “Let me help you practice going through it.”
“Uh,” Carrie hesitated. “I don’t think I’m ready for that.”
But the woman encouraged her to try anyway, and they started to work though it together.
As they moved through the pages, Carrie first thought the woman was acting as she answered and responded, but then, Carrie realized she was sincere. She’d grown up Catholic, she told Carrie. Her life had been filled with adventure, but she still wanted more from life, and felt somewhat empty inside.
When they reached the page that asked her to chose one of two circles to represent her life – a life with or without Christ – the woman chose the one without Christ.
“Do you want God in your life?” Carrie asked.
“Yes that is what I want,” she said.
Floored, Carrie asked her several times if this was what she actually wanted – if she wanted it right then.
“Yes,” she said, “I do.”
Sitting in her plane seat, she prayed and received Christ.
